Blindfold

A few days later, Amegakure finally welcomed the long-lost sunny day. The sun shone on the moist ground, reflecting dazzling light.

A large number of villagers gathered at the village entrance, awaiting the imminent important moment.

Yahiko stood amidst the crowd, tightly holding Satoru's hand, his face serious.

"Satoru, I entrust this mission to you." His voice expressed his deep trust.

"There are many affairs in Amegakure. As the Amekage, I have many matters to attend to and cannot go to Konoha directly. Therefore, I ask you to take care of Konoha's affairs more." Yahiko continued.

Satoru smiled and nodded, his blue eyes blinking with confidence. "Don't worry, I will do my best to benefit Amegakure as much as possible."

Beside him stood several Amegakure ninja and Hanzo.

They were all important members of this journey to Konoha and would complete this important mission together with Satoru.

Yahiko nodded again, his eyes full of expectation.

"Then, Satoru, we must remember that our goal is to achieve the greatest benefit." He said.

At this moment, Konan stood beside him and spoke softly but with a hint of nervousness, "Satoru, the alliance with Konoha is very important, don't mess it up."

Compared to the last adventure to the Kingdom of Roran, negotiations with Konoha were clearly more formal and critical. Even Hanzo was sent personally, which was enough to show the importance of this mission.

However, one was a lesser-known small country, while the other was a super ninja village that had dominated the ninja world for decades, and the weight between the two was already clear.

If they succeeded in gaining support from Konoha, the development of Amegakure would open up unprecedented opportunities.

Satoru understood that he had a heavy responsibility this time, but he also had full confidence in himself.

"Don't worry." He reassured Konan with a smile, his eyes showing determination. "I will do my best to achieve the greatest benefit for Amegakure."

Konan took out a bouquet of clean white paper flowers from her hand, handed it to him, and said gently, "If you see Jiraiya-sensei, please give him this bouquet. Tell him that we are all fine, and he taught us well in ninjutsu training."

Satoru took the paper flowers, carefully put them in his pocket, and nodded earnestly. "I will."

Seeing this, Yahiko quickly reminded, "Well then, we will not delay any longer."

Satoru and Hanzo looked at each other, silently understanding each other.

They turned around and walked towards the outskirts of the village, their figures slowly disappearing under the gaze of everyone.

"Looking forward to your good news, Satoru." Yahiko said softly to himself as he watched Satoru's back and the others.

＊＊＊

"I thought you wouldn't come."

Satoru's voice suddenly sounded in the forest, causing Hanzo and the ninja who were focused on moving forward to be stunned.

"Satoru?" Hanzo quickly snapped out of it, feeling an inexplicable nervousness in his heart.

He immediately sent a secret signal, and the ninja around him became alert.

Didn't he realize that someone was approaching?

The silent feeling followed, making Hanzo feel a little annoyed. However, he trusted Satoru's intuition and insight more. Therefore, after he reminded him, he immediately looked around carefully.

At this moment, a hoarse voice sounded from behind them: "Anyway, this is a big event in the village, so I still want to see you off."

As the voice fell, a figure slowly emerged from the trees.

After seeing the man's face clearly, it was Nagato with red hair.

Seeing Nagato, everyone's nerves quickly tensed. After all, Satoru and Nagato had a fierce fight in the village before.

Satoru turned around and his eyes focused on Nagato.

He observed him dressed in black, his face paler than before, and his eyes red. It was clear that he was not having a good time during this period.

"How many days have we not met, you look pale." Satoru joked.

Nagato didn't say anything.

"If there's nothing we want to say, we'll leave." Satoru turned to leave.

"Wait a minute..."

Nagato's voice interrupted Satoru's steps. He turned slightly and saw him taking something out of his arms and slowly walking towards him.

"This is for you." Nagato reached out, holding a white blindfold in his hand.

It was a white blindfold.

Satoru turned around, his eyes fixed on the blindfold, and a little curiosity arose in his heart.

In Nagato's words, he remembered his past with affection: "Since my parents died, I woke up with these pair of Rinnegan. At first, I regarded them as strangers and didn't want to expose them, so I sewed the blindfold with my own hands, hoping to hide their presence."

"But over time, I met you. At that time, my hair had grown to my waist, and the blindfold naturally became unnecessary."

Nagato smiled gently, with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. "After that, Jiraiya-sensei revealed to me the true meaning of these eyes, the Rinnegan, one of the highest eye techniques. Since then, I put away the blindfold and began to face my own power calmly."

"But since Yahiko became the Amekage, I may have been too obsessed with the power of the Rinnegan, and I made many mistakes against you and became even more arrogant."

There was a slight tone of self-blame and regret in Nagato's voice.

His voice suddenly choked with deep gratitude. "Thank you, Satoru. You saved me from the dark swamp of power addiction."

He reached out and gently placed the blindfold in Satoru's hand.

On the blindfold, every stitch and thread symbolized his hard work and emotions. "I sewed this for you at home recently. Although simple, it represents my sincerity. I hope you don't dislike it."

Satoru looked at the blindfold in his hand, feeling a wave of complicated emotions in his heart.

Although Nagato had misunderstood him some time ago and even acted hurtfully towards him, they were friends and companions who grew up together.

Satoru took a deep breath and slowly put on the blindfold on his face.

Both felt the warmth of the blindfold on his face and felt a sense of relief in their hearts.

This blindfold was not just a simple object, but a symbol of their conflicts and reconciliation.

He smiled faintly, reached out and patted Nagato's shoulder, "We've been together since we were kids, what can't be forgiven?"

"It's just that the blindfold looks a little loose. Why is your head a bit bigger than mine?" Satoru joked with a relaxed smile.

When Nagato heard this, his nervousness finally subsided. He looked at Satoru's playful expression, and a relieved smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"It was sewn to fit my size. It seems my judgment was good."

"Then just wait for the good news, and the village will be entrusted to you." Satoru said earnestly.

"Don't worry." Nagato nodded in response.

They looked at each other and smiled, all misunderstandings disappearing at that moment.